Glodzik company hit with $40K lien

State officials on Monday filed a lien against another company owned by embattled towing contractor Leo Glodzik III, claiming he owes Pennsylvania nearly $40,000.

The state Department of Labor and Industry filed a commonwealth lien against Duryea-based LAG Transport and Recovery Inc., alleging it owes $39,648.47 in unemployment compensation withholdings, according to court documents filed in the Luzerne County Prothonotary's Office.

Monday's lien is the latest in a long list of financial problems and controversies surrounding Glodzik, the owner of LAG Towing in Wilkes-Barre.

Most recently, Glodzik was hit with a protection from abuse order April 25 by a woman who claims he beat her to the point of unconsciousness at his Wilkes-Barre home. Also last month, an $8,380 judgment was filed against his former company, United Sanitation Network Inc., now owned by his sister, Pilar.

The state Department of Environmental Protection in April also accused Glodzik of violating state law for failing to maintain an Exeter Township bridge he owns that is now in "imminent danger of collapse."

Glodzik, 42, was Wilkes-Barre's exclusive towing contractor from April 2005 until he was suspended May 31, 2013, after his arrest on allegations he pocketed more than $2,000 in bait money in an FBI sting operation after a tow.

In March, The Citizens' Voice reported the FBI is looking at possible connections among Wilkes-Barre police officers, auto loans and Glodzik as part of a wider investigation, citing law enforcement officials and others with knowledge of the case.

In January, the Internal Revenue Service filed a federal tax lien against Glodzik for $114,584. The action came six months after the state Department of Revenue slammed Glodzik with a lien claiming he owed the state $519,168 in personal income taxes and interest from 2006 through 2011, making him the biggest alleged dodger of Pennsylvania taxes in Luzerne County.

LAG Transport and Recovery Inc., the subject of Monday's lien, was hit with a state lien in December, alleging it failed to pay nearly $13,000 in unemployment compensation taxes.

In addition to tax troubles, a bank in March 2013 moved to foreclose on Glodzik's home at 1009 Morgan Drive in Wilkes-Barre, claiming he owed $257,018. The bank ceased proceedings after Glodzik filed a counterclaim, alleging improper conduct by the bank. An ex-girlfriend also filed a protection from abuse order against him in November.

Glodzik's tenure as the city's towing contractor was marred by allegations of price gouging and overbilling, prompting angry residents and city council to urge Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tom Leighton to finally launch an internal review of his practices. An arbitrator ruled in January that Glodzik will remain suspended pending the outcome of his criminal case.

bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com

570-821-2055, @cvbobkal

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